Film

Since making films at Burning Man and the Festival Au Desert in Mali in 2009, Dearbhla has focused on human rights based films. She has made several films in Palestine, Iraq, and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. ‘Gaza- Post Operation Cast Lead’ won the grand prize at the ICCl Human Rights Film award in 2010. Dearbhla also filmed post war Iraq where she made a film on the impact of the use of depleted uranium on children’s health. More recently Dearbhla has collaborated with rights based groups to make awareness raising films around the issues of social justice, justice and accountability, child protection and gender issues in regions of conflict.

In June 2013 Dearbhla won the grand prize at the ICCl Awards for the second time for her short film ‘The Value of Women in DRC’. Dearbhla has completed an in-depth feature film on the issue of gender violence and rape used as a weapon of war, this films focuses not only on the survivors of rape but also on the views and perspectives of the perpetrators themselves in an effort to understand how this can happen to a society. The films explores the experience of both the survivors and perpetrators - foot-soldiers, rebel generals, high ranging commandants. What emerges is an arresting and brutal account of how war leaves few victors - least of all women - whose value is often rendered worthless. The feature film was broadcast in 2016 Dearbhla is planning a new film in Eastern Congo for early 2019..

In recent years Dearbhla has also been a published writer and photo-journalist, publishing with Vice, Al Jazeera, Mashable and the Irish Times. Since October 2014 she documented an ongoing massacre in Beni, Eastern Congo and was the only international media in the region at the time.

Dearbhla focused on filming in Liberia, Guinea and C'ote D'ivoire following up on the impact of the ebola crisis. Dearbhla is still focused mainly in Eastern Congo where she will re visit Beni in 2018 where the massacre is still ongoing.

Dearbhla lectures ins gender and conflict and also in film and photography. Dearbhla is currently planning a new film around strength and resilience in Eastern Congo, Gaza Palestine and Haiti.